Croatia · Digital nomad
Temporary Stay for Digital Nomads
Open and expanded by the 2024-25 Aliens Act amendments, which extended maximum duration to 18 months. The income threshold is indexed annually to the prior year's average net salary and rose to EUR 3,622.50/month in March 2026. It will move again around March 2027.
This is the only digital nomad permit in the EU with a genuine statutory tax exemption, not just a marketing claim. Article 9(1)(26) of the Personal Income Tax Act exempts income earned for an employer not registered in Croatia. That provision defeats the 183-day residence trigger for that income. In practice, you can stay in Croatia for the full 18 months and pay no Croatian income tax on qualifying foreign income. Compare that to Slovenia, where the identical-looking permit carries no exemption at all.
Qualifying routes
2.5x the prior year's average monthly net salary, plus roughly 10% (about EUR 145) per accompanying family member, evidenced by 6 months of bank statements or payslips
EUR 43,470 for a 12-month stay, or EUR 65,205 for 18 months, held in an account
The facts
- Minimum
- €3.6k
- Total landed cost
- Government fees run roughly EUR 90-190, depending on nationality. That includes a EUR 46.45 permit fee, a EUR 31.85 biometric card fee and a EUR 9.29 admin fee. Visa nationals add EUR 55.74, plus EUR 93.00 for the D visa.
- Route type
- Income requirement
- Timeline
- 1–3 months (You apply at a Croatian consulate. Visa-free nationals can instead apply at a police administration in Croatia.)
- Physical presence
- There is no minimum stay required.
- Family
- SpouseA common-law partner of 3+ years qualifies, or a shorter relationship if there is a childClose family members are eligible too. Each one applies separately under family reunification
- Permanent residency
- There is none in practice. The 18-month cap and the 6-month cooling-off period are structurally incompatible with the 5-year long-term residence clock. See the watch-outs section. The operative statutory exclusion has not been located in the legislation, and MUP's page is silent on it.
- Citizenship
- There is none via this route.
- Language test
- Not applicable
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- A non-EU/EEA national working remotely for an employer not registered in Croatia, or self-employed through a foreign company6 months of income evidenceHealth insurance and a Croatian addressA clean criminal recordDocuments in Croatian or English, translated by a sworn translator
- The exemption applies only to foreign-source income. Any Croatian-source income, say from a local client or local work, is taxed normally and taints that portion.
- The exemption is a domestic Croatian rule. It does not make you tax resident nowhere, and it will not stop your home country from asserting residence over you. It creates a genuine gap only if you have already broken residence elsewhere. That calls for treaty analysis, not a brochure.
- There is a hard 18-month ceiling, followed by a 6-month cooling-off period before you can reapply. Think of this as a sabbatical, not a settlement.
- The time almost certainly does not count toward long-term residence or citizenship. Every secondary source agrees, and the structure makes it nearly impossible in practice. Still, MUP's official page says nothing on the point, and the exclusion is not spelled out in the Aliens Act. If this matters to you, get it confirmed in writing.
- The income threshold is indexed every spring. EUR 3,622.50 is the 2026 figure and it will rise. Check with MUP at the time you apply rather than relying on any published guide.
- Family members must apply separately under family reunification. They are not simply added as dependants on your permit, which means extra cost and extra process.